Banoffee Pie

I have to admit, I am such a fan of sweets! I mean, not like ordinary sweets fans, but like… a chocoholic. Yes, that tells it all. Chocolate is one of my biggest weaknesses. I like it in so many forms, but my favorites are definitely the darker bitter ones, the ones that contain more than 70 % of cacao. I also love to bake things with chocolate. I have collected a massive source of chocolate cake recipes, and I am constantly on a quest to find the best chocolate cake in the world. So in case you have found one, please share your secret with me! So far I have tried several but none of them has exactly fulfilled me. My dream cake would be a mud cake like, very fudgy from the middle, but very dense at the same time. With deep flavor of chocolate. The closest I’ve gotten so far was with a Brazilian recipe that I found after eating one of the most divine pieces of chocolate cake at Sao Paulo Guarulhos airport a year back. That recipe I will also share with you as soon as I get to bake it again. Last time the cake disappeared so fast that I could not even take pics, haha!

As you see, when I get to talk about chocolate I never stop unless stopped. The aim of this post was not to talk about chocolate but something almost as divine. One week ago I got dinner guests when a friend couple was visiting. The theme of the food was Korean, but as I never really liked to have my desserts very light (like often in Asian cuisine they are) I decided to do something outside the theme. As my adventures with chocolate are well known for people that would have been a rather boring choice. So I ended up doing a Banoffee pie. A sweet, soft, creamy, delicious banoffee pie, that makes me drool even when thinking about it.

When you’re fixing a bit more challenging dinner a Banoffee pie is a perfect dessert as it requires very little work. Also my recipe for it couldn’t be more simple, here it comes!

Oh So Divine Banoffee Pie

300g assorted biscuits of your choice (I used some chocolate drop cookies with some non-frosted cupcakes I had forgotten in our freezer some time ago)

100g unsalted butter, melted

1 can (397g) condensed milk caramel, or one of just condensed milk

2-3 bananas, sliced (the not too ripe ones are the best for this)

200ml heavy whipping cream

100g dark chocolate

If you are using condensed milk and not ready caramel, start with the condensed milk. If you already have the caramel ready, skip this part. Bring water to boil in a preferably big saucepan. Remove the labels from your tin can of condensed milk and place the can as it is (do not open it) into the boiling water. Let simmer for about 3 to 3,5 hours, adding water into the pan if necessary. The can should stay under the water at all times, so more water might be needed.

Carefully remove the can from the water after the time is due and let cool in a cold water.

Line the bottom of an approx. 22cm springform pan with baking paper.

Prepare the biscuit base. Crush the bisquits in a large bowl until they’re small crumbs. You can use a potato masher, a steak hammer, a wine bottle or anything you have at hand. If you have a food processor to do the work, even better. You can also put the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. All the means are okay for this!

Stir in the melted butter until the mixture is smooth and sticky. Press the mixture on the bottom of your springform pan and 3cm up the sides. Refridgerate for about one hour.

When the the biscuit base is firm, it’s time to fill the pie. Open the cooled can of condensed milk caramel (or the ready caramel) and pour it on the biscuit base. Top with sliced bananas. Whip the cream with an electric mixer until fluffy and thick foam. . The cream doesn’t need sugar as the pie contains other elements that are already very sweet. Spoon the whipped cream over the bananas, and don’t be too careful with this, the pie should have kind of a careless look.

Top with roughly chopped dark chocolate (or sifted cocoa powder). Enjoy immediately in good company, with sweet dessert wine and a clear conscience!